Embattled Vanita Gupta approved as Associate Attorney General for DOJ

Vanita Gupta is the new Associate Attorney Genereal.

One Republican Senator bucked her GOP colleagues and just like that, Vanita Gupta's appointment was approved to become the Associate Attorney General of the Department of Justice.

Alaska's Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the lone Republican to vote for the Indian American civil rights attorney

Gupta becomes the first woman of color and the first Asian American to hold the third-in-command for the Justice Department.

“Not only is Ms. Gupta the first woman of color to ever be nominated to the position, she is the first civil rights attorney ever to be nominated to the position — the third-ranking official in the Justice Department,” said Senate  Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

Vice President Kamala Harris was present in case her vote was needed to break a tie between the GOP and Democrats. 

As soon as Gupta was nominated, conservative groups and Senate Republicans have been attacking her as a "radical" in attempt to derail Biden's nomination, even though all the major law enforcement groups endorsed Gupta.

Gupta previously was the head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division during the Obama administration. 

But Murkowski, who voted to convict Donald Trump in the former president's second impeachment trial, voted for the embattled Gupta.

According to Politico, among the issues Murkowski discussed with Gupta was domestic violence and sexual assault, particularly against Native women — a major priority for the Alaska Republican.

“I felt that I was speaking to a woman who had not only committed her professional life to try to get the base of these injustices, to try to not just direct a little bit of money, put a program in place, and walk away and call it a day,” Murkowski told Politico. “But to try to truly make a difference.”

Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said:
"Her confirmation could not come at a more significant time as our nation continues to grapple with a multitude of civil rights issues – from police brutality targeting Black and Brown communities to the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes we have seen throughout the pandemic. 

"We need a Department of Justice that understands the needs and experiences of communities of color and works to protect them from violence and disenfranchisement," said Chu.